Kenta Shinohara's fantasy romantic comedy manga Witch Watch is being adapted into an anime series. This week, a website and X social media account were launched, officially announcing the adaptation while revealing a teaser visual and trailer.
Based on the popular manga series, the adaptation is being produced by Bibury Animation Studios. It has a premiere date of April 2025 in Japan, although there's word on whether it will be released in the United States.
The Witch Watch manga began serialization in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in February 2021. As of November 2022, the manga had over 1.1 million copies in circulation. VIZ Media, which publishes the official English version of the manga, describes the story:
Morihito Otogi’s family is descended from a long line of ogre familiars, and he has the inhuman strength to prove it. One day, his father comes to him with the life-changing news that he is to become the familiar of his childhood friend, the teenage witch Nico. He is to live under the same roof with her and protect her from anything and anyone that may attempt to harm her. Meanwhile, Nico is excited to get to live with the love of her life, even if her crush is one-sided—Morihito is so serious about his duties to protect her that any romance is going to be an uphill battle. But he has every reason to be serious, as Nico has a prophecy of doom hanging over her head!
With just a few months to go until Witch Watch, we already have our first teaser visual and preview trailer. The teaser visual features Nico front and center, surrounded by Morihito, Kanshi, Keigo, and Otomu, who appear to have been shrunk by Nico's magic. "The four characters are all in light blue and pink, and the items scattered around the image are the same color scheme, making this teaser visual reminiscent of the Witch Watch comic book design," the website description reads.
As for the teaser trailer, it begins with a scene in which Morihito is relaxing in his living room when Nico busts in, smashing the window. "Morihito's difficult and mysterious days get embroiled in trouble caused by the clumsy witch Nico, and from the 50-second PV, you can easily imagine the excitement, thrills, and bizarreness that go with the flow," the description reads.
The Witch Watch anime is being directed by Hiroshi Ikehata (TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You) at Bilbury Animation Studios, with series composition by Deko Akao (The Case Study of Vanitas), character designs by Haruko Iizuka (Horimiya) and music by Yukari Hashimoto (A Sign of Affection). Additional staff members were also announced:
- Assistant Director: Masao Kawase
- Sub Character Designers: Yuki Sawa, Yoshiaki Sugimura
- Art Director: Ping Xue
- Art Designers: Yuki Takeuchi, Masayuki Niizuma
- Color Designer: Yuiha Ota
- Director of Photography: Hisashi Yonezawa
- Editor: Mutsumi Takemiya
- Sound Director: Fumiyuki Go
In addition to the staff, the Japanese voice cast was revealed:
- Nico Wakatsuki voiced by Rina Kawaguchi (Quan in Kizuna no Allele)
- Morihito Otogi voiced by Ryota Suzuki (Ryusei in Dr. STONE)
- Kanshi Kazamatsuri voiced by Kohei Amasaki (Will in Wistoria: Wand and Sword)
- Keigo Magami voiced by Kaito Ishikawa (Naofumi in The Rising of the Shield Hero)
- Nemu Miyao voiced by Tomori Kusunoki (Shizuka in Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead)
Witch Watch is set to premiere in Japan in April 2025. We're still awaiting word on when, or if, it will come stateside. Are you excited for the anime series adaptation?